Are class abilities special qualities?
I ask this having been looking at a thread discussing the skeleton template. It says that the skeleton loses most special qualities, keeping qualities that improve their melee or ranged attacks, as long as the ability is extraordinary.
If you animated the body of a barbarian, would it stll be able to rage, and if so, use surprise accuracy while raging? Would a fighter's corpse keep it's +2 for axes and +1 for bows? Would a monk skele keep it's unarmed strike damage and FoB? Would a ranger keep his +2 favored enemy bonus against humanoid(human) and still be able to mark quarry?
Now before anyone says it, the template says they lose class HD, not class levels, so if this does work, a 1 HD human skele could have up to 20th level class abilities, provided that:
1. Class abilities ARE special qualities. Most important part.
2. Are extaordinary abilities.
3. Improve the skele's ranged or melee attack rolls.
I really do feel a little dumb asking, but I just want to be sure. Else and zombies could be stronger than we thought. I expect a resounding 'No.' But, stranger things have happened.
Class abilities are class features. It requires the new creature to be able to maintain levels in that class.
The only way a skeleton would get to keep the class abilities is if it was something like a skeletal champion that had an intelligence and class levels.
Also, barbarian rage gives morale effects, and undead are supposed to be immune to moral effects.
Ok. Like I said, I expected a no. Couldn't find anything on it, but didn't want to assume.
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To answer your question: base skeletons loose all class levels, so no, they cannot befifit from anything their class gave them.
Abilities fall into one of several groups. There are extraordinary abilities (things that are crazy cool but not actually magical), spells-like abilities (basically spells but without all the need to memorize them everyday, or use spell components) and supernatural abilities (basically magic-fueled abilities that are not actually spells.) Special qualities are usually race-related. Let's take a look at some individually.
A half-Orc has darkvision. It is a core part of the half-orc's eyeballs. However, when he becomes a skeleton, he looses his actual eyes and gets magic see-even-though-he-has-no-eyes vision. He looses his darkvision and gains whatever vision the skeleton template has. (Because it is a special quality that doesn't give a bonus to attacks, the half Orc looses it.)
One of the the half-Orc alternate racial things is to have a bit attack. This is because he has a huge jaw and tusks. If one of these guys gets turned into a skeleton, he keeps the bite attack because his jaw is still there (because it is a special quality that gives him a natural attack, he keeps it.)
A gnome with high charisma has several abilities, like prestigigitation 1/day. These are stated as 'spell like' so skeletons don't get them.